José María Giménez facts for kids
Giménez with Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | José María Giménez de Vargas | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 January 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Toledo, Uruguay | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Atlético Madrid | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Danubio | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Danubio | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Atlético Madrid | 252 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Uruguay U20 | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Uruguay | 96 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2025 |
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José María Giménez de Vargas is a professional footballer from Uruguay. He was born on January 20, 1995. José plays as a centre-back, which is a defensive position, for the Spanish club Atlético Madrid. He is also the captain of the Uruguay national team.
José started his football journey with Danubio FC in Uruguay. Later, he moved to Spain and joined Atlético Madrid in 2013. He quickly became an important player for the team. With Atlético Madrid, he has won several big titles, including the La Liga championship in his very first season.
José also plays for his country, Uruguay. He first played for the national team in 2013. Since then, he has represented Uruguay in three FIFA World Cup tournaments and five Copa América competitions.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Danubio
José Giménez was born in Toledo, Uruguay. He began his professional football career with Danubio F.C. in Uruguay's top league. His first game was on November 17, 2012, against River Plate. He played the entire match, but Danubio lost 2–0.
Joining Atlético Madrid
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On April 25, 2013, it was announced that José Giménez would join the Spanish club Atlético Madrid. He officially joined them for the 2013–14 season. On September 14, he played his first game for Atlético Madrid in La Liga. His team won 4–2 against UD Almería at home.
José scored his first goal for Atlético Madrid on December 6, 2014. This goal helped his team win 2–0 against Elche CF. He also scored a header against their big rival, Real Madrid, in a Copa del Rey match in January 2015, which Atlético won 2–0.
In February 2019, José scored an important goal against the Italian team Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. This goal helped Atlético win 2–0 in the first game of the Round of 16. Before the 2019–20 season, José became the third captain of the team.
Playing for His Country
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José Giménez played for the Uruguay Under-20 team in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. His team did very well and finished as the runner-up, losing to France in the final.
He made his debut for the senior Uruguay national team on September 10, 2013. This was during a qualifying match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Colombia.
In June 2014, José was chosen to be part of Uruguay's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was only 19 years old at the time. He played his first World Cup game against England, helping his team win 2–1. He also started in the final group match against Italy and the Round of 16 game against Colombia.
José scored his first goal for Uruguay in a friendly match against South Korea on September 8, 2014. In May 2015, he was selected for Uruguay's squad for the 2015 Copa América. He scored Uruguay's goal in a 1–1 draw against Paraguay, which helped both teams move to the next stage of the tournament.
In May 2018, he was again named in Uruguay's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On June 15, he scored the winning goal in the last minute of Uruguay's first game against Egypt.
In March 2019, José was included in the Uruguay squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. He scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against Japan. He was also the only Uruguayan player chosen for the "Team of the Tournament" that year.
Personal Life
José is married to Regina Iafolla. They have been together since they were teenagers. They have two children named Lautaro and Luciano.
Career Numbers
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Danubio | 2012–13 | Uruguayan Primera División | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2013–14 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 17 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| Total | 252 | 6 | 30 | 3 | 70 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 357 | 13 | ||
| Career total | 268 | 6 | 30 | 3 | 70 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 373 | 13 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 96 | 8 | |
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 September 2014 | Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea |  South Korea |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 13 November 2014 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Costa Rica |
2–2 | 3–3 | |
| 3. | 20 June 2015 | Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile |  Paraguay |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2015 Copa América |
| 4. | 4 June 2017 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |  Republic of Ireland |
1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 5. | 7 June 2018 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Uzbekistan |
3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 6. | 15 June 2018 | Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia |  Egypt |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup |
| 7. | 7 September 2018 | NRG Stadium, Houston, United States |  Mexico |
1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8. | 20 June 2019 | Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre, Brazil |  Japan |
2–2 | 2–2 | 2019 Copa América |
Awards and Achievements
Atlético Madrid
- La Liga: 2013–14, 2020–21 (Winner)
- Supercopa de España: 2014 (Winner)
- UEFA Europa League: 2017–18 (Winner)
- UEFA Super Cup: 2018 (Winner)
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2013–14, 2015–16 (Second Place)
Uruguay U20
- FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2013 (Second Place)
Uruguay
- Copa América third place: 2024 (Third Place)
Individual Awards
- Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2019
See also
In Spanish: José María Giménez para niños
